WEST VIRGINIA CODE

(a) Any person who is eligible and seeks to hold an office or
political party position to be filled by election in any primary or
general election held under the provisions of this chapter shall
file a certificate of announcement declaring his or her candidacy
for the nomination or election to the office.

(b) The certificate of announcement shall be filed as follows:

(1) Candidates for the House of Delegates, the State Senate,
circuit judge, family court judge, and any other office or
political position to be filled by the voters of more than one
county shall file a certificate of announcement with the Secretary
of State.

(2) Candidates for an office or political position to be
filled by the voters of a single county or a subdivision of a
county, except for candidates for the House of Delegates, State
Senate, circuit judge or family court judge, shall file a
certificate of announcement with the clerk of the county
commission.

(3) Candidates for an office to be filled by the voters of a
municipality shall file a certificate of announcement with the
recorder or city clerk.

(c) The certificate of announcement shall be filed with the
proper officer not earlier than the second Monday in January before
the primary election day and not later than the last Saturday in January before the primary election day and must be received before
midnight, eastern standard time, of that day or, if mailed, shall
be postmarked by the United States Postal Service before that hour.
This includes the offices of justice of the Supreme Court of
Appeals, circuit court judge, family court judge and magistrate,
which are to be filled on a nonpartisan and division basis at the
primary election.

(d) The certificate of announcement shall be on a form
prescribed by the Secretary of State on which the candidate shall
make a sworn statement before a notary public or other officer
authorized to administer oaths, containing the following
information:

(1) The date of the election in which the candidate seeks to
appear on the ballot;

(2) The name of the office sought; the district, if any; and
the division, if any;

(3) The legal name of the candidate and the exact name the
candidate desires to appear on the ballot, subject to limitations
prescribed in section thirteen, article five of this chapter;

(4) The county of residence and a statement that the candidate
is a legally qualified voter of that county; and the magisterial
district of residence for candidates elected from magisterial
districts or under magisterial district limitations;

(5) The specific address designating the location at which the
candidate resides at the time of filing, including number and street or rural route and box number and city, state and zip code;

(6) For partisan elections, the name of the candidate's
political party and a statement that the candidate: (A) Is a
member of and affiliated with that political party as evidenced by
the candidate's current registration as a voter affiliated with
that party; and (B) has not been registered as a voter affiliated
with any other political party for a period of sixty days before
the date of filing the announcement;

(7) For candidates for delegate to national convention, the
name of the presidential candidate to be listed on the ballot as
the preference of the candidate on the first convention ballot; or
a statement that the candidate prefers to remain "uncommitted";

(8) A statement that the person filing the certificate of
announcement is a candidate for the office in good faith;

(9) The words "subscribed and sworn to before me this ______
day of _____________, 20____" and a space for the signature of the
officer giving the oath.

(e) The Secretary of State or the board of ballot
commissioners, as the case may be, may refuse to certify the
candidacy or may remove the certification of the candidacy upon
receipt of a certified copy of the voter's registration record of
the candidate showing that the candidate was registered as a voter
in a party other than the one named in the certificate of
announcement during the sixty days immediately preceding the filing
of the certificate: Provided, That unless a signed formal complaint of violation of this section and the certified copy of
the voter's registration record of the candidate are filed with the
officer receiving that candidate's certificate of announcement no
later than ten days following the close of the filing period, the
candidate may not be refused certification for this reason.

(f) The certificate of announcement shall be subscribed and
sworn to by the candidate before some officer qualified to
administer oaths, who shall certify the same. Any person who
knowingly provides false information on the certificate is guilty
of false swearing and shall be punished in accordance with section
three, article nine of this chapter.

(g) Any candidate for delegate to a national convention may
change his or her statement of presidential preference by notifying
the Secretary of State by letter received by the Secretary of State
no later than the third Tuesday following the close of candidate
filing. When the rules of the political party allow each
presidential candidate to approve or reject candidates for delegate
to convention who may appear on the ballot as committed to that
presidential candidate, the presidential candidate or the
candidate's committee on his or her behalf may file a list of
approved or rejected candidates for delegate and the Secretary of
State shall list as "uncommitted" any candidate for delegate who is
disapproved by the presidential candidate.

(h) A person may not be a candidate for more than one office
or office division at any election: Provided, That a candidate for an office may also be a candidate for President of the United
States, for membership on political party executive committees or
for delegate to a political party national convention: Provided,
however, That an unsuccessful candidate for a nonpartisan office in
an election held concurrently with the primary election may be
appointed under the provisions of section nineteen of this article
to fill a vacancy on the general ballot.

(i) A candidate who files a certificate of announcement for
more than one office or division and does not withdraw, as provided
by section eleven, article five of this chapter, from all but one
office prior to the close of the filing period may not be certified
by the Secretary of State or placed on the ballot for any office by
the board of ballot commissioners.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2016 Regular Session
The West Virginia Code Online is an unofficial copy of the annotated WV Code, provided as a convenience. It has NOT been edited for publication, and is not in any way official or authoritative.